Titan passenger Suleman Dawood's aunt claims he was ‘terrified' before trip

In the days before the Titan vessel went into the ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, the 19-year-old university student accompanying his father on the expedition expressed hesitation about going on the voyage, according to his aunt.

Azmeh Dawood — the older sister of Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood — told NBC News on Thursday that her nephew, Suleman, informed a relative that he "wasn't very up for it" and felt "terrified" about the mission to explore the wreckage of the Titanic.

But the 19-year-old ended up going aboard OceanGate's 22-foot submersible because the trip fell over Father's Day weekend and he was eager to please his dad, who was passionate about the lore of the Titanic, according to Azmeh.

For more on this story, go to NBC News